JERUSALEM, Sept 8 (AFP) - The Palestinians' iconic leader Yasser Arafat died of poisoning, AIDS or an infection, an author of a new Israeli book charged Wednesday, citing a confidential medical report on his death and expert doctors.
"There are three possible causes of death: infection from a germ that poisoned the blood, AIDS or poisoning from a dinner at his Ramallah headquarters on October 12, 2004," Avi Isacharov told AFP.
According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the French medical report into Arafat's last days lists the immediate cause of death as a massive brain haemorrhage, but offers no conclusions as to what caused the attack.
"A discussion among a large number of medical experts... shows that it is impossible to pinpoint a cause that will explain the combination of symptoms that led to the death of the patient," the daily cited the report as saying.
However Isacharov said Arafat's symptoms detailed in the report make it impossible to rule out AIDS as a cause of death.
"I interviewed medical experts, including Professor Johnny Gershoni, AIDS specialist at Tel Aviv University, and Professor Gil Lugassi who were categorical that the symptoms described in the report were typical of AIDS," he said.
"Another AIDS expert in Jerusalem who refused to be quoted said the opposite, but all the specialists agreed that the fact AIDS was not mentioned once in the report, that tests to screen for the HIV virus did not appear is absurd and deeply suspicious," said Isacharov.
"With such symptoms, it is clear that the word AIDS should have been mentioned at least once," said the Israeli public radio reporter, whose new edition of "The Seventh War" co-written with fellow journalist Amos Harel comes out next week.
The New York Times, in a separate review of the data, offered a different interpretation, saying that poisoning was highly unlikely and the rumour Arafat died of AIDS was unfounded.
Nevertheless, it concluded that the medical records do not clear up the mystery surrounding Arafat's underlying infection.
The French report, hitherto kept under wraps by Arafat's widow and senior Palestinian officials, said biopsies carried out on the patient had vanished.
"This is very strange, because it could have given a clear understanding of what Yasser Arafat was suffering from," Isacharov said.
In a front-page article carried by Haaretz, alongside a photocopy of the medical report, the Israeli newspaper extrapolated that the veteran Palestinian leader also died of an infection, poisoning or AIDS.
Mystery over the cause of the veteran leader's death has for months been subject to conspiracy theories, chiefly that he was poisoned by long-time foe Israel.
Senior Palestinian officials interviewed by the authors, such as civil affairs minister Mohammed Dahlan and national security advisor Jibril Rajoub, are convinced Arafat was poisoned by Israel, Isacharov said.
They allege that the former leader was not cautious enough and could easily have been poisoned from sweets and medicine consumed without medical supervision.
A senior official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office stressed that Israel was in no way responsible for Arafat's death.
"Israel is not in any way linked to the death of Arafat. On the contrary, he did everything we could help to him to go to France to be treated. There is no proof of a possible poisoning," the official told AFP.
The 75-year-old Arafat, who embodied the Palestinian struggle for independence for decades, died at the Percy military hospital just outside Paris on November 11.
050908
AF050920
Copyright ©AFP 2005. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2005. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2005 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
